The present disclosure relates generally to displaying graphics on irregular substrates.
Adhesive-coated plastic films, especially vinyl films with pressure sensitive adhesives or pressure-activated adhesives, are applied to a variety of surfaces for a variety of reasons such as advertisement, decoration, protection, and the like. Most of these surfaces tend to be fairly smooth. However, there are many surfaces that are non-planar or irregular and may include imperfections, seams, rivets, and other protrusions or indentations.
When a film is applied over and adhered to these irregular surfaces, the film may be strained to bring the adhesive into contact with the irregular surface. Residual stress in the film at such irregular surface locations may exceed the holding power of the adhesive resulting in the film lifting off the surface to which it was adhered. This may result in an imperfect appearance.